Jeremy Corbyn calls for UK-wide Bank Holiday if England win the World Cup
2 min read
Workers across Britain should be given a day off work if England win the World Cup, Jeremy Corbyn has said.
The Labour leader's spokesman said the team's progress to the quarter-finals of the tournament was "very exciting for people across the country".
England defeated Colombia on penalties in their last 16 clash in Moscow on Tuesday night.
Mr Corbyn's spokesman said the whole of the UK should be allowed to celebrate with a one-off Bank Holiday if Gareth Southgate's side go on to lift the trophy.
He said: "The progress of the England team in the World Cup is very exciting for people across the country. Obviously we need to not get ahead of ourselves, but I think it's the case that Jeremy believes that if England were to win the World Cup there should be a public Bank Holiday in celebration of that."
The spokesman also insisted that Labour frontbenchers were free to travel to Russia to support England, despite Theresa May announcing in March that government ministers and the Royal Family were boycotting the tournament in response to the nerve agent attack in Salisbury.
Asked if Labour were joining in the boycott, Mr Corbyn's spokesman said: "People should be supporting the England team in Moscow and be able to.
"Jeremy and the frontbench are committed to dialogue and openness, including with countries that we disagree with, so there's no ban and Jeremy certainly supports the efforts to support the England team."
It comes after Labour promised four new bank holidays its general election manifesto last year - one for every constituent part of the UK.
Meanwhile, it has also emerged that Theresa May could not bear to watch the penalty shoot-out, which England won 4-3.
Her spokesman said: "She did see some of it. She struggles to watch penalties because it's a nerve-wracking time."
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